Prolonged Darkness
by FreehanderBaird10716
Summary: A series of interconnected drabbles. Varian is left alone with his guilt, grief, anger, and need for redemption on multiple fronts while in jail. Arianna and Frederick are left to dote and worry over their daughter venturing out in the beyond, but soon realize that they have more pressing obligations to the alchemist wasting away in their basement.
1. Varian's Darkness P1

Drabbles, I believe, are little bits of inspiration for others writing in the same fandom/for the same character(s) and good writing practice, since they don't have as much of a cemented plot and lots of room for reader interpretation. That being said, these (at least four) drabbles will be connected and explore a more angsty Varian/darker tone to the Tangled fandom, as mainly presented through the series.  
If you, reader, are struggling with keeping your head up and/or are having pressing issues with darker thoughts, then I do not recommend this collection. I'm not going to be super duper depressing or anything, I just don't want to aid in any struggles you may have in the realm of sorrow. Unfortunately, most of my fics do play around with more emotionally mature themes.  
Instead, please take the time to dedicate yourself to healing through venting, journaling, and talking to a therapist/ someone you trust who will be knowledgeable/intelligent with what you are facing. I know from experience that there are much better days ahead, and that this is a test of inner strength and stamina. You will emerge even stronger and wiser and more beautiful and brave.  
That all being said, above statements I will try to explore here. I am no psychologist/mental health professional, but rather an enthusiast and someone who may end up going into such a practice later on.  
I can't promise any regular updates. Like I said, this is practice for stronger writing, character study, and to be used as a break from longer and more intensive fics.  
But, enjoy :)

* * *

Darkness.

Cramped, damp, and suffocatingly silent darkness crept in on Varian from all sides as he tried to endure his first night in the prisons underneath the Corona castle.

Upon Varian's arrival to the capital only hours after the showdown in Old Corona, he had been led by no less than four guards down to the deepest dungeons meant for the prisoners that weren't ever to see the light of day again.

Manacles threateningly hung on the wall beside Varian as he curled tighter and tighter into himself in the back corner, wishing to disappear off the face of the earth.

" _You will,"_ a voice in his head tauntingly said. _"Everyone will forget about you down here. Rapunzel, your Flynn Rider...Even Cassandra will not mourn your incarceration after you tried to crush her! Soon, the guards will forget the scrawny brainiac and he'll starve! And then you'll join father...And he'll take one look at you and you'll wish that you hadn't even been born, you disappointment!"_

No longer did Varian have the consolation and comfort of his forest friend when it came to him thinking such malicious thoughts, for they had taken Rudiger away upon his arrival. Varian had thrashed about, trying his best to break away from the guard that had been holding onto him, and wailed in protest as Rudiger had been ripped off his shoulder and stuffed into a cage in the Captain's office, all the while trying to bite and claw and punch his way to his best friend. His _only_ friend.

That outburst, Varian figured, was what sealed his fate to be housed down in the deepest levels and to be restrained by not only his wrists, but his ankles as well.

The slightly rusted metal bands bit into his skin, already starting to chaff his joints, and jingled loudly at every movement. It was a jolt to his heart every time he heard them, for it served not only as a reminder to his failures, but also as a reminder to the monster he had let himself become.

Almost fondly Varian let himself reflect on how everything was just fine and dandy before the princess had come a-knocking on his lab, and more importantly, before she started meddling in whatever _magic_ that brought her hair back and the black rocks with it.

He'd take any close call with his hot water heaters, with his new and improved farming methods, and any other "destructive" alchemy compound paired with the disappointed and confused looks from his father on a daily basis as opposed to where he and his father both were now.

"If you are to let me rot, then at least let me do so at my father's feet! Sleepless nights and prison grub I will endure for the rest of my life in this leaky cell here if I am able to release my father. Please. That's all I ask. He should not be allowed to suffer any more than I have already made him!" Varian had pleaded with the guards that visited him that night as they had brought a small tray of rice and the scum from the bottom of the soup pot for dinner.

Anger had swelled deep within Varian's heart at the guard's refusal to even acknowledge that he had spoken, had _begged_ like the low life he was, to them.

"Please! _Please!_ I can't, I can't stomach the thought of there still being possibilities and secrets and weaknesses to the amber that I can't act on! Just give me some equipment, or something to write with! You can watch me all day and night if you must but I have to continue my work!" He had shouted down the hallway to the guards, who disappeared around the corner and into the shadows without a backward glance.

His heart-wrenching cry of anguish he knew could be heard by any others on the above floors as he kicked the bowls of his meager morsels and sent them flying onto the floor and wall on the other side of his cell.

His stomach rumbled in response to his impulsive reaction, even though he told himself that hunger would be a common feeling for the duration of his stay. Food, he had then figured, wasn't fit for him. Wasn't fit for a wanna-be son.

He had then dejectedly retreated back to his corner, which he had barely moved from as he let silent tears of guilt and shame and sorrow and anger flow freely for what seemed like hours. Sleep, Varian reasoned that night, would only be a slight possibility with the savage evil churning deep in his gut and wringing out his bleeding heart.

* * *

Cross-posted on Archive of Our Own under the same pen name.


	2. Arianna's Darkness P1

**Ch 2: Arianna's Darkness P1**

 _Queen Arianna is eternally grateful to be home and, most importantly, alive. Something, or perhaps someone, however, gnaws at the back of her mind._

 _Oh, GOODNESS this was a doozy to write. This is actually my first time trying to write Arianna, so tell me how she sounds?_

 _I really, really appreciate the amount of comments and kudos and bookmarks that I have received for this thus far, and I thank all that are willing to stick with me for this. I honestly don't know how long this collection will last, but I have an outline and a few plans for it nonetheless._

 _Without further delay, and lack of majorly depressing themes, chapter two :)_

Darkness.

Soothing, warm, and sweetly silent darkness enveloped Arianna as she snuggled into the soft, luscious quilts on her bed with Frederick by her side the night after they had returned safely home from her near death experiences in Old Corona.

After much prying Frederick away from their daughter, future son-in-law, and their fellow companions, the two of them had rode side by side back the way they had forcefully came. That late afternoon, as they arrived back to the capital, they and their fellow comrades had been greeted with welcoming arms and feasts large enough to kill beasts from the rest of the townsfolk. Graciously, Frederick returned the favor in the form of reassuring speeches about how "Varian was subdued and in their custody" and how "Not to worry! Rapunzel and her companions were now heading the investigation of the black rocks, and following them out of the kingdom to cut them down at their origin."

The kingdom rejoiced at the news, and continued the festivities throughout the night, now that their problems were seemingly being solved left and right.

Arianna, meanwhile, had feverishly tried her best to block out the conflicting emotions racing through her heart and the events of the past day or so playing through her head instead as she laid in her bed.

Vividly, she recalled the swirling tendrils of amber reaching out towards her mercilessly, threatening her with the same fate that her husband's old friend had endured. Arianna's heart pounded at the thought of the threat of death she had barely escaped at an age she wasn't expecting, at a time when her daughter's return was only a mere year ago, at the thought of her husband and daughter having to witness her demise, much like Varian must have had to do with his father…

The anguish and anger tainting Varian's heart had been plainly evident in the alchemist's demeanor, and had made him a very dangerous foe indeed. Driven to desperate lengths he had been, having to live with his seemingly only relative trapped in a prison of his own design and working, just based off of his weak physical state, tirelessly to free him.

And to think that she and Frederick, two _adults_ with _experience_ and some degree of refined _maturity_ who were the respective second and first in command of a _kingdom_ , had almost entirely collapsed at the loss of their daughter, a mere babe that they had only known for a week!

Here Varian was though, only a few years younger than their just-of-age daughter and seemingly dependent on only his father, having lost said parental figure while his entirely livelihood was being destroyed around him by the black rocks, being abandoned by his neighbors and by his kingdom in his greatest time of need, and all the while having to struggle with what Arianna imagined to be a similar despair she and Frederick had faced when they lost Rapunzel.

How he had been abandoned by both her and Frederick…

And by seemingly Rapunzel and her friends.

No matter how much she told herself that Varian had brought his arrest upon himself, Arianna couldn't help but feel slightly responsible. She was the queen of the boy's kingdom, for goodness sake! Wasn't it her duty to help the ones in need? Help the displaced by the unfortunate circumstances that were the black rocks? To help the helpless?

Her daughter, Arianna knew, wouldn't hurt a fly. But, she also knew that she tended to take on a but more than she could chew, for being a young adult that had spent her entire childhood and teenage years in isolation, so desperately trying to make up for all her lost time...

Eventually, Arianna tired herself out, thinking herself silly and going in circles trying to sort through her emotions.

—

"Arianna, honey. What's wrong?" Frederick inquired the next morning as he realized that his wife was still in bed past her normal waking time, staring off into the distance. Arianna sighed.

"I'm, just thinking about last night."

Affectionately, Frederick found Arianna's hand and squeezed it.

"Last night was chaos, and, as your husband, made me extremely anxious. I was afraid that I was going to loose you, so soon after our daughter returned to us. But, here we are together, and our daughter is in good hands. Not to mention capable herself. And she, our Sun Drop, is finally going to put the problem of the black rocks to rest!"

Arianna, however, still did not move from her spot, or even thank Frederick for his kind, reassuring words.

"If I've learned one thing as my time as king, we cannot look back and dwell on the past," Frederick tried again. "But rather learn from it."

Arianna still mused over her loving husband's words, trying to adopt his philosophy, but she couldn't. If anything, his ending comment made her even more disgruntled.

"Frederick, I almost _died_ last night," she said. " _Twice_ , because we, we weren't attentive enough to the needs of our kingdom. Varian…"

"Arianna…"

"I _know_ Varian's actions were wrong, and we responded accordingly, but what if we, what if _I_ , had been more proactive with Old Corona's affairs? With the black rocks? Last night _could_ have been avoided! Maybe Varian would still be the small town alchemist with good intentions that I heard about from our daughter and Eugene."

"Varian made his choice, despite the circumstances, and deserves what has been given to him! He, like you said, brought his arrest upon himself."

"Then why do I still feel so, so _wrong_ inside? Why don't I feel..."

"You are overthinking this, Arianna. Didn't we just agree that, like any other criminal, Varian was justly arrested for his crimes against the crown? For taking you away from Rapunzel and I? For threatening to take you from all of us permanently?"

Despite how wrong it felt, Arianna nodded her head.

"You have gone through a traumatic experience and need time to rest," Frederick continued. "I will tell your handmaidens that you will be taking sometime off to get back on your feet and to clear your schedule for the day. Ok?"

Guilty to falling victim to her pressing thoughts and unease, Arianna agreed.

 _I would especially appreciate the time you, the reader, will take out to review this chapter and give me feedback on how I wrote Arianna, and I guess Frederick for that matter. I enjoy her character, and am looking forward to her more in the series, so I want to hear if I did her justice!_

 _Not quite sure how I feel about this chapter, to be honest with you. I think I read it ten too many times._

 _Thank you,_

 _FB10716_


	3. The Captain's Darkness P1

**The Captain's Darkness P1**

 _Making progress! Here is yet another new POV for me: the Captain!_

 _School has officially started back up for me, and I plan to incorporate writing into my leisure/relax time. Next to meditation, journaling, free reading, watching shows…_

 _Lots of emotionally uncomfortable Captain and guards in this, along with mentions of self-starvation/malnutrition._

* * *

Darkness.

Heavy, lurching, pitch black shadows were cast along the stone and mortar walls by the Captain's lamp as he, flanked by Stan and Pete, made their way down to the lowest level of the Corona dungeons.

By request of the king, the Captain was to make reports on Varian's mental and physical state and report back to His Majesty at the end of every week, something he found to not be very pleasant.

The Captain's back still hurt from being tossed around like a ragdoll from the beast of a raccoon that the alchemist had unleashed.

The Captain still remembered how badly he wanted the alchemist to suffer after hearing how close he had been to crushing his daughter, Queen, and princess to death.

The Captain still remembered finally meeting the boy and, despite how ragged he already was from the past months, not to mention from the battle and cart ride to the capital, roughing him up a bit before ripping the raccoon from the boy's shoulders and clamping shackles around his feet once they could get ahold of a writhing Varian again.

But the sight of a mere boy huddled in a dank prison cell meant for hardened criminals was one that the Cap was not used to, and it twisted his heart in violent directions, making him uncomfortable. Seeing someone else's son draped in chains too big for him, begging on his hands and knees routinely for forgiveness and release for the sake of his father gutted him, and made him wish that something could have been done to prevent things from going as far as they did.

On top of all the begging, bitterness radiated off of Varian, no matter how much the Captain tried to reason with him. Lashing out seemed to be the only way Varian knew how to interact with any of the guards when he wasn't sulking about, and even then his train of thought was scattered and mood all over the place. If the Captain didn't know better, and hadn't had previous experience with grief, he would have thought the scientist was going mad. Most of the time, Varian's ranting and raving and outbursts of remorse ended up in his daily rations going to waist, either by being the new decorum attempt or rotting smell following Stan and Pete up the stairs at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, the Captain found his behavior quite similar to someone else he knew.

The raccoon he believed Varian called "Rudiger" cowered and hissed at anyone that would get too close to his confines in the corner of the main guard station, even if it was to give him his daily assortment of nuts and berries. Most of which went bad, for the volatile masked mammal refused to eat but a handful or two of the new helpings he was given each day. Rapidly, the fat house racoon lost weight and furthermore any interest in many basic hygiene and health areas.

 _Strange_ , the Captain thought, that both master and pet were coping with incarceration and isolation the same way. Though he wouldn't admit it to his fellow warriors, it troubled him.

He had been bringing justice to petty criminals and committed evil-doers alike in the name of safety and security for his kingdom for most of his life, so the Captain knew the signs of resignation and lack of will much like he knew how to call a bluff. Although it was part of his job to steel himself from his emotions while in the line of duty in order to perform at max capacity, he couldn't help but see and feel for the lonely, orphaned child shutting himself off to the world due to the misfortunes life had burdened him with.

Even his initial rage and hate towards the alchemist at hearing what he had threatened his daughter and his employers with dissipated after only minimal interactions with him and the realization of his motivations, no matter how reckless and destructive they had been. Not to mention how he saw the comparative abundance of food Stan and Pete would bring back up from his cell, and the daily reports on his activities and condition.

"Varian's made multiple attempts to converse with us," Stan said to him one evening in the mess hall, soon after Varian's arrival. "Only about how he is offering himself up to us 'for all eternity' in the exchange for the opportunities to free Quirin, though. We haven't responded, per our orders."

"It's starting to get really depressing," Pete had commented, only poking at his meal. "I remember dragging him out into the blizzard that day… I can't help but feel slightly responsible, you know? I was just trying to do my job, but I wish I could have gone with him. Tried to help somehow."

The Captain was starting to agree.

A comparable nervous wreck for this week's round of questioning, the Captain tried to stall his weekly encounter with Varian for as long as possible.

When they arrived at Varian's level, the corridor was eerily silent and still. If someone has just been passing through, they probably wouldn't have noticed the scuff marks under one cell door, indicating that it had, compared to all the others surrounding it, had been opened recently.

The Captain and his fellow subordinate's approach did not go unnoticed by Varian, who immediately unburied his head from his arms and knees to scoot over to the door on all fours, the irons dragging behind him.

As much as it hurt Varian's pride and the scraps of self-worth he had left to pull this routine every time anyone came down to grace him with their presence, he felt it necessary to remind them that there was a bigger objective at hand, and only he was able to execute it.

"Captain! You, you have some authority down here! Please, I, I need to continue my work. The amber...There's, there's…" Varian had started, tripping on his own words, too overwhelmed by the anxiety spurred upon by the stark reality of his life thus so far.

"Varian, I'm not here to discuss the terms of your imprisonment anymore. I think we're past..."

"We are not past the terms of my imprisonment!" Varian shouted over him. "As long as I am stuck down here, we are not past talking about the terms of my imprisonment!"

"I cannot make any amends to what the King has ordered to be done!" The Captain shouted back only in despair.

"You can make recommendations to him based on the conditions of your division! If you won't, then I will request an appointment with the king myself and beg at his feet instead!"

"A criminal cannot make an appointment with His Majesty. Only the king can initiate the conversation between himself and the individual!"

"What, what about Her Majesty?" Varian asked, still on all fours and peering up at the Captain on the other side of his cell.

The Captain stuttered, a bit lost for words. Never had a criminal been asked to see Her Majesty before now, and he wasn't quite sure what to do. The guard in him told him to deny his request, referencing the decree that it was not in the criminal's rights to speak with anyone, no matter their affiliation, once they were in custody unless requested by the person on the outside, like a loyal man to the crown would, but the sympathetic nature of the queen was part of what made Arianna such a good one. The Captain knew, once she saw Varian how the Captain saw him, there'd be a change in how the alchemist was being treated.

"I shall see if she approves of the meeting.." The Captain trailed cautiously. Varian started to sob, barely able to choke out a just audible 'thank you.'

The Captain, per his protocol, then proceeded with the standard rounds of questioning. Varian, per his self-imposed protocol, blocked out the Captain and refused to answer any of his questions about his feelings about the royal family, Corona as a whole, and if he knew anything about the black rocks that wasn't common knowledge by now.

Dejectedly, the Captain concluded with absolute no new information presented to him, and a weakly hiccuping Varian before him, facing away towards the back wall, on the borderlands of scarce, uncomfortable and fitful sleep.

* * *

 _As always, comments, kudos, and the like are always appreciated. :)_

 _Seemingly back from the dead,_

 _FB10716_


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